The Effect of Low-Growing Rootstocks on the Adaptability and Productivity of Sour Cherry Varieties (Prunus cerasus L.) in Arid Conditions

Abstract

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.), having a rich composition of biologically active connections and antioxidants, is gaining increasing popularity among agricultural producers. Increasing the production of sour cherry fruits requires the introduction of modern technology, one of the elements of which is low-growing rootstocks. For many cultures, the use of low-growing rootstocks has been widely studied, but there is very little information on their use in cherry plantations. We studied new varieties and rootstocks of cherries in the conditions of the dry steppe zone, where this issue had not been studied before. Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) varieties—Toy, Memory of Zhukova, and Loznovskaya—are the most adapted to the conditions in which the experiments were conducted. Russian breeding forms (Krymsk, Krasnodar region), which were taken as rootstocks, are widely used for sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.), but are practically never used for sour cherries (Prunus cerasus L.). The influence of rootstocks on such parameters as drought resistance, heat resistance, winter hardiness, and productivity was studied in variety–rootstock combinations. The study showed that they had the greatest drought resistance, and accordingly affected the grafted variety with rootstock, in the pedigree of which there are wild species. These rootstocks were of the VSL and RVL series. The study of the productivity of variety–rootstock combinations showed that in the grafted varieties the most rapid entry into the fruiting season and the greatest increase in the yield was facilitated by the rootstock forms of VSL-1 and VSL-2 (K5) which made it possible to obtain a yield of 5.8–8.1 kg/tree, depending on the variety grafted onto them. However, it is necessary to continue the research that has been started in order to fully determine the possible qualitative and quantitative parameters of the studied variety–rootstock combinations and to identify the most promising ones for further introduction into industrial production. This work was carried out within the framework of the topic of the state task of the Scientific Research Center of Agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences No. 0713-2019-0009: “Theoretical foundations, creation of new competitive biotypes of agricultural crops with high productivity, quality, sustainability and varietal technologies based on the latest methods and technological solutions in a changing climate, including seed breeding and nursery breeding”.